Blindstitching sewing-machine.



PATENTED JULY 30, 1907.

J. E. FBFELP I 'BLINDSTITGHING SEWING MACHINE.

APPLIGATIOI FILED MAR. 9, 1906.

' 5 SHEETS-SHEET 1- No. 861,821.- j PATBNTED JULY 30, 1907'.

- J. E... PE EL,

BLINDSTITGHING SEWING M'AQHINE.

APPLICATION FILED HAB- 9, 190B.

' 5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

III

No. 861,821.- PATBNTED JULY 30, 1907.

I. E. FEFBL.

BL INDSTITGHING SEWING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 9, 1906.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

\ TH! nouns 3:11p: co., wasumorqn, v. c.

No. 861,821; PATENTED JULY 30, 1907! J. 3., FEPEL.

BLINDSTITGHING SEWING MACHINE;

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 9, 1906.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrren,

JOHN E. FEFEL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES FELLING MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

BLINDSTITCHING SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 30, 1907..

Application filed March 9, 1906. erial No- 805,032.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. FEFEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at 240 South Ninth street, Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Blindstitching Sewing-Machines, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

The present invention relates to that class of sewing machines which is employed in felling or making blind stitches upon one side of a fabric for attaching a lining, binding, or facing thereto; and in which a curved needle operates wholly upon one side of the fabric.

In the present machine, the cloth or work-piece to be sewed is pressed upward by a feed-wheel against the flat under surface of the feet, which has a slot or throat therethrough, which permits the curved needle to enter and emerge from the upper side of the cloth. The cloth therefore needs no bending to permit the operation of the needle, and the feed-table does not require any ridge or angular work-supportover which the cloth can be bent. The machine is thus fully distinguished from those employing an angular work-support extended lengthwise of the seam, as has been common heretofore. The machine is also distinguished by the provision of a raceway supported over the foot transverse to the path of the needle, with a shuttle reciprocated therein to engage a loop upon the upper side of the needle. The curved needle is mounted upon an oscillating carrier which is movable bodily sidewise so 7 as to oscillate the needle in different parallel planes, the lateral movement of the carrier being variable so that the needle may intersect the cloth upon alternate stitches at a greater or less distance apart, or may be oscillated continuously in the same position so as to stitch a straight seam, as in machines which are not adapted for blind stitching. The shuttle may be pointed at one end, as is common, and reciprocated in the raceway once for each oscillation of the needle; or it may be pointed at both ends and operated to engage a loop of the needle-thread when moving in both directions; with this arrangement the shuttle reciprocates only one-half as often as the needle.

The double pointed shuttle and means of operating the same is made the subject of a separate application,

entitled blind stitching sewing machine Serial No.

the shuttle-carrier omitted; Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4- 1 in Fig. 1, showing the feed-gearing; Fig. 5 is a plan showing the feed-mechanism the feed-wheel being omitted; Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the shuttle operating withthe needle above the surface of the cloth, the foot and raceway being omitted to show the threads clearly; Fig. 7 is an end view of the feed-arm and needlecarrier with section of the foot showing the needle operating upon the cloth; and Fig. 8 is a plan of the foot, shuttle and raceway. Fig. 9 is a face-view of the cogwheel, carrying the cam g, and Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section of the feed-arm adjacent to the feed-wheel.

The same reference letters are applied to similar parts herein, as in the co-pending application referred to.

The machine is shown with a frame having a hollow post A, goose-neck B and head O, with a driving-shaft D extended into the head.

Connections for needle-carrier. A rock-shaft G for the needle-arm or carriera is shown mounted to turn, and also to reciprocate in a bearing below the driving-shaft.

A link 0 connects a crank upon the rock-shaft G with a' crank upon the driving-shaft D, to oscillate the needlecarrier for each rotation of said shaft. The reciprocation of the rock-shaft G is for shifting the needle-carrier laterally, as is common in sewing zigzag stitches, and is effected as follows: A stud E carries a gear F, which meshes with a gear F upon the driving-shaft, and carries a grooved cam g. This cam vibrates an arm 2 at each rotation-of the driving-shaft, to oscillate a segment 9 having an adjustable pin f which is linked by a balljoint to the end of the needle rock-shaft G. The adjustment of the pin f varies the lateral displacement of the needle n, as is required for sewing zigzag seams of various widths.

Foot ondfeed-iable. A. feed-arm H has one end jointed within the post A and is extended beneath the head G to carry the feed-wheelw beneath the needle-arm. A leaf-spring J presses the feed-arm normally upward, and a treadle O and chain 0 are shown diagrammatically in Fig. l to depress the feed-arm for inserting the cloth or fabric to be sewed beneath the foot M which is supported upon the head. An adjusting screw K is arranged beneath the spring to regulate the upward elastic pressure of the spring against the feed-arm, and the upward movement of the arm is regulated by a screw L having an adjustable nut L. The feed-table is shown flat upon the upper side, and the under side of the foot M is correspondingly fiat, and a feed-wheel w is supported elastically upon the feed-arm which forms the table, so as to project normally above its surface and press the cloth against the bottom of the foot, which is thus the sole guide for the movement of the cloth.

Shuttle connections. The raceway P for the shuttle is shown supported directly above the foot by means of legs 1 attached to the head, and is divided midway for the passage of the needle, and to permit the loop of the needlethread to project upwardly into the path of the shuttle Q. The shuttle is vibrated by a shuttle-carrier R and shuttle-arm R, having a pivot S above and at one side of the driving-shaft transverse to the same, and provided with a spherical crank-pin S An eccentric I upon the driving-shaft is shown connected by link I to the pin S so that the shuttle is reciprocated or oscillated once at each rotation of the driving-shaft. The feed-wheel adjusts itself, when material of different thicknesses is fed beneath the foot in the operation of sewing. The foot is supported upon the head by a vertically adjustable bar N having screw 1 2 to set the same to and from the needle-carrier and raceway; which latter are adjusted in such a position that the under side of the needle, as shown in Fig. 7, just clears one corner of the shuttle. The shuttle is pointed wholly toward this corner, so as to readily pick up the loop j from the top of the needle. The foot is formed with a throator slot m which permits the curve of the needle to move a little below the under side of the foot, and thus penetrate the cloth close to the feed-wheel w. The feed-wheel in practice made with marginal rows of teeth to and an intermediate smooth space 10 which may crowd the cloth close to the needle without interfering with the operation of the same, as shown in Fig. 10. A spring W is shown supporting the bearings of the feed-wheel elastically, so that it may yield independently of the feed-arm to suit various thicknesses of cloth 9c. The upward pressure of the feed-arm, effected by the spring .T, is regulated by screw J, which may be adjusted by the operator to suit the thickness and stiffness of the cloth beneath the foot.

Thread-grade and take-up. The needle is shown with a vertical eye Z (Figs. 6 and '7) and groove 1 upon the under side, and the thread is led into such groove by a thread-guide p attached by the needle-arm or carrier close to the shank of the needle. An car 23 and a guide-arm p upon the needle-carrier receive the thread from a take-up lever V. This lever, as shown in Fig. 3, is actuated by a cam having groove '11 engaged with a pin '11 upon the lever.

Feed-wheel driver. The feed-shaft h is extended from the feed-wheelw through the feed-arm into the post A, where it is provided with a fine toothed ratchet-wheel Ii. An eccentric d is mounted upon the driving-shaft D over such ratchet-wheel within the post, and the eccentric strap is attached directly to a pawl c which is adapted to reciprocate over one side of the ratchetwheel and is pressed normally toward the same by a spring is. An adjustable gage q is secured in the frame by a set-screw q, with its point at one side of the pawl. When the gage is retracted sufficiently, the pawl throughout its entire movement, engages the teeth of the ratchet-wheel, but as it first strikes the ratchet wheel upon the curved upper surface of the latter, the adjustment of the gage toward the pawl serves to press it slightly away from such curved surface and cause it to engage the ratchet-teeth at a later point in its descent. Gage marks 1' are formed upon the gage g, which indicate the number of teeth which would be engaged by the pawl when the gage is correspondingly adjusted. A nut is is applied to a thread upon a tightening rod for the spring 70, and the pressure of the pawl against the feed-wheel and the position of the gage, are thus both adjustable. The gear-wheels F and F are in the proportion of two to one, as shown in Fig. 9, and the earn 9 is shaped to shift the needle-bar laterally before each forward movement of the needle reciprocates successively in different parallel planes, and in each position forms a stitch with the cooperation of the shuttle. The needle-thread and the shuttlethread, with this operation of the needle, form a double chain stitch, and show zigzag lines upon the surface of the cloth, as represented in Fig. 6. The needle moves tangentially to the feed-wheel 'w and to the cloth which lies upon the wheel, as the needle does not pass through the cloth in forming the stitches, but enters and emerges from adjacent points upon the same side of the cloth, as is clearly shown in Fig. 7. A very simple mechanism is thus used for operating the shuttle and forming a lock-stitch with the thread of the curved needle above the surface. of the foot, and the use of a shuttle thus greatly improves this class of felling or blind stitch machine.

In Fig. 6, a single pointed shuttle is shown, but in Fig. 8, a double pointed shuttle is shown, which may, be reciprocated only half as often as the needle-carrier, because its points are adapted to engage the needlethread when moved in both directions.

The double pointed shuttle and its connections are claimed in my co-pending application No. 305,033, filed simultaneously herewith, on March 9, 1906.

It is especially to be noted that the surface of the feed-arm in the present invention may be fiat, as shown in Fig. 7, as well as the under surface of the foot, and that no ridge is required upon the feed-arm to bend the cloth or fabric at an angle, nor is the needle operated transversely to any such ridge, in order to pass in and out of the cloth upon the same side. Such passage of the needle is secured, in the present invention, by the use of the throat in the flat foot and the pressing of the cloth upward through the throat in the path of the curved needle. The needle is shown herein reciprocated at right angles to the path of the shuttle, and transverse to the axis of the feed-wheel; butthe needle may be operated at an angle to the axis of the feedwheel or at any angle to the raceway which will permit the shuttle to engage the loop of the needle-thread.

The machine operates as follows The cloth, with any facing or attachment that is to be secured thereon is placed upon the flat feed-table which is lowered by pressing upon the treadle O and when released clamps the cloth between the feed-table and the foot. If zigzag stitches are desired, the pin f is adjusted in the segment 9 to reciprocate the rock-shaft D to the required degree, and the needle thus alternately intersects the cloth upon two different lines, the shuttle engaging a loop of the needle-thread at each of the needles movements, and the needle-thread and looperthread crossing one another upon the surface of the fabric, as shown in Fig. 6. The adjustment of the pin f in the segment 9 determines the width of the Zigzag stitches, and when the pin is carried up to the center of oscillation of the segment, it becomes stationary, the needle-carrier a oscillates continuously in the same position, and the needle forms a straight row of stitches.

- The movement of the needle into the cloth is in the line of the seam, and not across the seam, and the width of the zigzag stitches is therefore dependent solelyupon the reciprocating movement of the rock-shaft G which oscillates the needle-carrier. In this respect, the machine differs widely from those in which the needle operates transverse to the line of the seam and in which the width of the seam is governed by the penetration of the needle through the cloth. In such transverse movement of the needle, a greater width of scam can only be secured by penetrating the cloth to a greater depth, which is, of course, prohibited in sewing thin materials; whereas, the present construction can form a zigzag seam of any width upon material of any thickness. Owing to the flat form of the feed-table which supports the cloth, and the width of the feed-wheel 10 which has teeth at itsopposite edges, any part of the cloth may be readily submitted to the needle, and a line of blind stitches can therefore be formed along the edge of the cloth to fasten a facing or thread thereto.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention what is claimed herein is:

1. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame of the machine having a post, a goose-neck and a head carried thereby, and a feed-arm projected from the post beneath the head and provided with a flat feed-table, and feeding mechanism for propelling the cloth across the flat-table transverse to the feed-arm, of a needle-bar upon the head carrying a curved needle, means for oscillating the needle transversely to the feed-arm and tangentially to the table so as to enter and emerge from the cloth upon the same side, a foot held stationary upon the head between the path of the needle and rthe arm with aperture for the passage. of the needle, the raceway I curved in a vertical plane and supported upon the head above the foot contiguous to the path of the needle and transverse to the same, a shuttle movable in the raceway with point adjacent to the path of the needle, and means for reciprocating the shuttle in the raceway.

2. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame of the machine having a post, a goose-neck and a head carried thereby, and a feed-arm projected from the post beneath the head and provided with a flat feed-table, of a needle-bar upon the head with means for oscillating it transversely to the feeder-m, a foot held stationary between the path of the needle and the feed-arm, a raceway supported upon the head above the foot contiguous to the path of the needle and transverse to the same, a shut tle movable in the raceway with point adjacent to the path of the needle, and means for reciprocating the shuttle in the raceway, the feed-arm being pivoted upon the post and having a spring to press it normally upward, a screw to vary the tension of the spring.

23. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame of the machine having a post, a goose-neck and a. head carried thereby, and a feed-arm projected from the post beneath the head, of a needle-carrier oscillated upon the head with a curved needle, a foot held stationary upon the head between the path of the needle and the feed-arm, a raceway supported upon the head above the foot contiguous to the path of the needle and transverse to the same, a shuttle movable in the raceway with point adjacent to the path of the needle. means for oscillating the shuttle in the raceway. and means for oscillating the needlecarrier and curved needle alternately in different planes to form zigzag stitches, and for oscillating the needle-carrier continuously in the same plane when required to form a straight line of stitches.

4. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the head of the machine having a curved needle with carrier to oscillate the same, of a raceway and shuttle supported upon the head above the path of the needle, and the needlecarrier having a pivot-shaft reciproeated longitudi ually, whereby the successive oscillations of the needle take place in different parallel planes, at work support, and said needle operating entirely above the work support to enter and emerge from the same face of the work, whereby a blind stitch is formed.

5. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the head of the machine having a curved needle with carrier to oscillate the same, of a raceway and shuttle supported upon the head above the path of the needle and the needlecarrier having a pivot-shaft with means to reciprocate the same longitudinally, whereby the successive oscillations of the 'needle may take place in different parallel planes, such means being constructed to hold the pivotshai't from longitudinal movement when required, so as to oscillate the carrier continuously in the same plane to form a straight line of stitches.

G. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame of the machine having a post, a goose-neck and a head carried thereby, and a feed-arm projected from the post beneath the head, of a needle-bar upon the head with curved needle, means for oscillating it transversely to the feed-a rm. a foot held stationary upon the head between the path of the needle and the feed-arm, a raceway divided into two sections and curved in a vertical plane, and the sections supported upon the head above the foot contiguous to the path of the needle and transverse to the same, a shuttle movable in the raceway with point adjacent to the path of the needle, and means for reciprocating the shuttle in the raceway once for each oscillation of the needle.

7. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame of the machine having a post, a goose-neck and a head carried thereby, and a feed-arm projected from the post beneath the head and provided with a flat feed-table, and feeding mechanism for propelling the cloth across the flat table transverse to the fecdarm, of a needle-bar upon the head carrying a curved needle, means for oscillating the needle transversely to the feed-arm and tangentially to the table so as to enter and emerge from the cloth upon the same side, a foot held stationary upon the head between the path of the needle and the arm with aperture for the passage of the needle, the raceway P curved in a vertical plane and supported upon the head above the foot contiguous to the path of the needle and transverse to the same, and divided at the middle in the path of the needle to permit its passage and arranged with one corner contiguous to such path, a shuttle fitted to the raceway and tapered wholly toward the said corner to engage the loop of the needle-thread at such corner, and means for reciprocating the shuttle in the raceway.

8. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame-goose-neck, head, and a driving-shaft extended into thehead, of a feed-arm projected below the head and supporting a cloth table, a bearing upon the head with rock-shaft mounted to oscillate and reciprocate therein, a needle arm attached to the rock-shaft and provided with a curved needle, means for oscillating the rockshaft to recip rocate the curved needle through the cloth, means for reciprocating the rock-shaft after each oscillation of the needle to shift the needle-arm and oscillate the needle in a different parallel plane, a raceway divided at the middle for the passage of the needle and for the lateral movement of the needle in making zigzag stitches and arranged just above the path of the needle, and a shuttle titted to the raceway with means to reciprocate the shuttle once for each oscillation of the needle.

9. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the head and a driving-shaft extended into the head and having a foot sustained upon the head with aperture for the tangential movement of the needle, of a cloth-table below the feet, a bearing upon the head, a rock-shaft fitted to oscillate and reciprocate in such bearing, a needle-arm attached to the rock-shaft with curved needle, means for oscillating the rock-shaft to reciprocate the curved needle through the aperture in the foot tangentially to the clothplate, a universal joint upon the end of the 1'0ck-shaft and a cam with connections to the drivingshaft and to said universal joint to reciprocate the rock-shaft once for each oscillation of the needle.

10. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame, goose-neck, head, and a drivingshaft extended into the head, of a feed-arm projected below the head .and supporting a cloth table, a feeding device projected through the surface of the cloth table to feed the cloth transversely of the arm, a foot sustained upon the head'with aperture for the tangential movement of the needle, a raceway sustained upon the head above the foot with shuttle movable therein, means for actuating the shuttle, a bearing upon the head With rock-shaft fitted to oscillate and reciprocate therein, a needle arm attached to the rock-shaft and car rying a curved needle with a movement through the aperture of the foot tangential to the feeding device, means for oscillating the needle-arm and curved needle, a cam and cam-shaft with gears connecting the same to the driving shaft, the segment g oscillated by connection to the cam, a connection from the segment to the rock-shaft to recip rocate the same, and means to oscillate the 10ckshaft, whereby the needle-arm and curved needle are oscillated in different parallel planes intermediate to the, reciprocation of the rock-shaft.

11. In a blind stitching machine, the combination, with the frame, goose-neck, head, and a drivingshaft extended into the head, of a feeding-arm projected below the head and supporting a cloth table, a feeding device projected through the surface of the cloth table to feed the cloth transversely of the arm, a foot sustained upon the head with aperture for the tangential movement of the needle, a raceway sustained upon the head above the foot with shuttle movable therein, means for actuating the shuttle, a bearing upon the head with rockshaft fitted to oscillate and reciprocate therein, and having a universal joint thereon, a needle-arm attached to the rock-shaft and carrying a curved needle With a movement through the aperture of the foot tangential to the feeding device, means for oscillating the needle-ar1n and curved needle, a cam and cam-shaft with gears connecting the same to the driving-shaft, the segment 0 oscillated by connection to the cam, and having a slot extended across the axis of the segment, a pin adjustable in the slot from the axis of the segment to any outer point and a link connected to such pin and to the universal joint upon the rock-shaft to reciprocate the same intermediate to the oscillations of the needle.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

' JOHN E. FEFEL.

Witnesses:

L. LEE, THOMAS S. CRANE. 

